This story was originally published in March 2015. While hiking throughout Maine on a weekly basis to write my “1-minute hike” column, I’ve discovered a number of jackpot hiking spots that don’t seem to get a lot of foot traffic. Here are 25 of those places, broken down by region.
Franklin area mountains: All mountains listed below provide stunning views of the area and are home to mature forest full of moss, lichen and giant boulders. This region is truly beautiful. Many of the trails are located in the Donnell Pond Unit, 15,384 acres of reserved land in townships of T7 SD, T9 SD, T10 SD; and the towns of Franklin and Sullivan.
Debsconeag Lakes Wilderness Area: Owned and maintained by The Nature Conservancy, this area beside Baxter State Park is nearly 50,000 acres and includes a stretch of the National Scenic Appalachian Trail and several other hiking trails to pristine lakes and ponds. The Rome mountains: Several small mountains in central Maine are accessible by trails and are a part of the Kennebec Highlands, which at 6,500 acres is the largest contiguous block of conserved land in central Maine. The land was conserved by the Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance’s Land Trust, which maintains the trails.
Georges Highland Path: A 50-mile network of trails in Midcoast Maine, this “path” leads to the top of some of the area’s most scenic mountains but also travels over easier, level terrain to historic sites and beautiful natural areas, such as bogs. The f.
